How many have taken elk during Montana shoulder seasons?

[DWBMontana]

Just curious how many of you have taken advantage of the shoulder seasons since they were began? Myself, I have never filled a cow or general tag during the shoulder season, but I have been a part of successful hunts during that time frame.

 

[freebird134]

What in the world is a shoulder season?


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[missjordan]

Filled a tag last year during the shoulder season towards the end of September on block management


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[Sodbuster]

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks :: Elk Shoulder Seasons

I had to look it up too.

 

[doverpack12]

I haven't done it outside general season although I have permission. With the new Elk B (cow) permit this year I had to buy the shoulder season permit. I shot a cow the last saturday of general season with that permit in an area it is valid for the shoulder season. When I bought my permit at the region 2 FWP office they gave me a sheet of paper that said what units the permit was good for and had some other information. If you read through it doesn't all have to be private although mostly. There is one area I could hunt 3 sections of DNRC with the permit.

 

[ndbwhunter]

I hunted the late shoulder season last year with my general tag. Got access to some awesome private land and was able to fill my tag. I wish they would open up more public areas during the late shoulder seasons. I've never been a big fan of harassing landowners in an attempt to gain access. They get bombarded with calls during the shoulder seasons.

 

[DWBMontana]

You need to remember, the main reason for the shoulder season besides eliminating cows is to push the animals back onto public grounds.

 

[Wapiti406]

I hunted the late shoulder season last year with my general tag. Got access to some awesome private land and was able to fill my tag. I wish they would open up more public areas during the late shoulder seasons. I've never been a big fan of harassing landowners in an attempt to gain access. They get bombarded with calls during the shoulder seasons.

No, they should not open up any public land for these hunts. The whole reason there are these ridiculous hunts in place is because land owners bitch to FWP about elk. Nobody from the Forest Service or BLM is complaining about the elk. The cows in these units are hunted and harassed for 6 months, they should be able to seek refuge on public lands. My humble opinion is that if a shoulder season is necessary it should only be applied on private land that allows public access all general season for both cows and bulls.

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I hunted the late shoulder season last year with my general tag. Got access to some awesome private land and was able to fill my tag. I wish they would open up more public areas during the late shoulder seasons. I've never been a big fan of harassing landowners in an attempt to gain access. They get bombarded with calls during the shoulder seasons.

No, they should not open up any public land for these hunts. The whole reason there are these ridiculous hunts in place is because land owners bitch to FWP about elk. Nobody from the Forest Service or BLM is complaining about the elk. The cows in these units are hunted and harassed for 6 months, they should be able to seek refuge on public lands. My humble opinion is that if a shoulder season is necessary it should only be applied on private land that allows public access all general season for both cows and bulls.

 

[ndbwhunter]

No, they should not open up any public land for these hunts. The whole reason there are these ridiculous hunts in place is because land owners bitch to FWP about elk. Nobody from the Forest Service or BLM is complaining about the elk. The cows in these units are hunted and harassed for 6 months, they should be able to seek refuge on public lands. My humble opinion is that if a shoulder season is necessary it should only be applied on private land that allows public access all general season for both cows and bulls.

I can see your point. I didn't think about it like that.

 

[skeptic]

I have mixed feelings on the shoulder season. Not a real big fan of the one they have in August, right before archery season. And this year they took it into February, which seems like a really long time to be hunting elk. This year hasn't been as cold as years past, so hopefully the elk are faring better than they were last year at this time. To me it seems like they should have some time to kind of be in "survival mode" while their calves grow and the food is scarce. Then again, I am not a biologist so I may be talking out my rear end.

Full disclosure and at the risk of sounding hypocritical, I have utilized the shoulder season to harvest a cow. I love to eat elk and the archery season and general season didn't pan out for me that year. It was actually a pretty difficult hunt because the weather and snow were fairly punishing, and the terrain was pretty flat so there wasn't really a good stalking opportunity. It was in early December, so it wasn't that far off the regular season. From what I saw in my experience on that hunt there were quite a few folks lurking about the county roads, but not very many willing to take a little walk to go get one...